Father Christmas and a Christmas Mystery

I am in the middle of Alan Bradley's newest Flavia de Luce novel titled, I Am Half-sick of Shadows. If you are not familiar with this series I highly recommend them especially if you are a science geek. Flavia is an eleven year old girl who has taken up an interest in chemistry following in the footsteps of a great uncle. Flavia's lives in the family manor of Buckshaw where she dabbles in the chemistry lab in the abandoned east wing. Most often she likes to brew up all types of terrible concoctions in order to get even with her two infuriating older sisters.



Images of Father Christmas
better known as Santa Claus

In this story she is out to capture Father Christmas in order to prove that he exists. Her sisters have told her that he doesn't. She has brewed up a batch Birdlime hoping to coat the chimney hence trapping Father Christmas. In the meantime holiday festivities are starting up and a movie crew is in the house having rented it as the backdrop for a new production (Flavia's family is a little hard up for cash at the moment and her father is trying to raise some by letting the house). The murder has occurred, sorry no spoilers here, the police have been called in, and Flavia's ready to give a hand to solve the crime. It's a good read. Plus as a chemistry teacher it's a tad bit of a busman's holiday.

These are all examples of cross stitch ornaments featuring Santa that I have done over the years. Most of them are Dimensions Designs.

Christmas is a coming...

During December one of my favorite things to do is read or re-read stories with a Christmas theme. For example, Ngaio Marsh's Tied Up in Tinsel is one of my favorites. This story feature's Agatha Troy, the artist wife of Inspector Roderick Alleyn, taking a turn getting mixed up in the middle of a crime. Rory, as his wife calls him, only enters the story mid-way through. The story takes place in the fabulously restored home of Hilary Bill-Tasman who has hired ex-cons (murders to be exact) to serve as his staff. Everyone is preparing for the Christmas holidays, decorating the house and tree, cooking up delicious goodies, drinking hot toddies, taking brisk walks on icy moors, and someone is plotting murder.

This weekend we decorated the tree which reminded me of one of the scenes from Marsh's story where Troy and Bill-Tasman are decorating the Christmas tree in an all golden theme. Pictured here is an example of a vintage ornament that came to me from my grandparents. These were produced by the Shiny Brite company which closed its doors in 1962. I have also included a picture of the boxes. One box features Uncle Sam shaking hands with Santa Claus endorsing these decorations as American made. Want to read more and learn about these interesting ornaments? Visit http://www.sheilazellerinteriors.com/tag/shiny-brite-ornaments

Pink Shiny Brite

Packaging for Shiny Brite Ornaments

Cooking Books vs. Cook Books

Have you ever found yourself getting very hungry from reading a book. It seems that more and more books feature food in them. Scenes of fabulous meals, family feasts, or sexy romantic meals for two. Even in my favorite genre, the mystery, food is featured more prominently. To start with there's Diane Mott Davidson's caterer, Goldy Schulz, one of the first detective/chef characters I encountered. When Goldy wasn't out looking for clues or running into or from the bad guys she was in her kitchen whipping up wonderful meals and decadent desserts. Recipes included. Follow that up with baker and cookie shop owner, Hannah Swensen, the sweet creation of Joanna Fluke. I've broken down and purchased ingredients with the intention of baking up some of the cookie recipes featured. Chocolate chip cookies anyone?

Then there's books that are all about cooking. Take for example Julie Powell's memoir Julie and Julia about the year she took to cook her way through Julia Child's quintesential cooking tome. Or a look at Paris through the eyes of pastry chef, David Lebovitch, in his book The Sweet Life in Paris (I must confess that this one is still sitting on the bookshelf waiting to be read. Or still a look at cooking in Tuscany with Frances Mayes in her most recent memoir Everyday in Tuscany  which was chucka-block full of recipes using the fresh produce from her garden or local markets.

Then there's the cook books. Last night I was searching for my favorite apple crisp recipe. I couldn't find it. I know I clipped it from some source years ago but couldn't lay my hands on it in my recipe scrapbook. I eventually went to the old standby my husband's grandmother's 1955 copy of the Good Housekeeping Cook Book. I looked through and found something that would work, or rather in the end I put together a recipe. Let's face it after hundreds of meals, I figure I've learned a thing or two about how to cook. Anyways, I got to flipping through the pages and got a kick out of some of the what I consider antiquated expressions and ingredients, for example what is a number 2 sized can of fruit? But wait, on page 344 I came across the recipe for toast. Yes, that's right toast. You can make it in your oven, under the broiler, in a skillet, use a waffle iron, or the best yet - an electric toaster. And I quote, "Just pop bread into toaster. Today's toasters are better than ever." And you thought boiling water was hard. Oh by the way if you need help with that one just follow this link.

The joy of multitasking and reading

I love hands free reading. I've started a new audiobook today, The Baker Street Brothers. It is how I manage to read and stitch at the same time. Here are a couple of examples of the work I have been able to get done while "reading." Both of these works are from the Dimension's Gold Collection.

Books - a cheap way to travel

Unfortunately, I am not blessed with unlimited time or money in order to travel the world. I do, however, have the local library which can fulfill that need. Today's trip has sent me to the Dordogne region of France with Chief of Police Bruno Courreges, the creation of author Martin Walker, as my tour guide. The newest "Mystery of the French Countryside" is titled The Crowded Grave. Already I have been introduced to many of the region's famous attributes which are to play key roles in this story. The ducks and geese of the region are destined to become the famous foie gras, but not if the members of PETA have anything to say about it. The local archaeological dig searching for more traces of our Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal ancestors (this is the home of the famous cave paintings of Lascaux) is the burial site of a not so ancient dead body. Political intrigue in the guise of Spanish-French forces dealing with the Basque ETA terrorist group forms another angle in the multi sided structure of this engaging novel.

I discovered Bruno and his charming village of St. Denis earlier this year, or could it be as long ago as the summer or fall of 2011, when I picked up The Dark Vineyard at the library. I went back to read his debut in Bruno, Chief of Police and a further case in Black Diamond. In these other stories we have met his boss the Mayor; his friends among the force, Isabelle (and former lover) and J-J; the towns people and friends; the rugby club; his hunting buddies; and his newer love interest Pamela, the "crazy British" woman. We've also gotten a glimpse of Bruno's history and the history of France much of which I was not familiar with. These are not your Peter Mayle type stories of sunny Provence. Although rural in nature, brutal murder happens even in the "quietest" places. People aren't always what they seem, and sometimes the good guys bend the rules to see that justice is served.

"Wake up, sister. It's Your Turn.

Thanks to Joan Anderson and her book, A Weekend to Change Your Life: Find your authentic self after a lifetime of being all things to all people for the title quote for today's post. Actually, I have a lot more to thank her for. I picked up her book Saturday morning at the library and began reading it over the course of the weekend. My weekend has been extended by two days due to Hurricane Sandy and school being closed; first, I was grateful to have the time to get caught up on grading, but mostly, I was grateful for the time to rest.

Anderson's book is about  retreating from the world even for one weekend in order to begin to put one's life back together. I realize how much I need time from the world in order to pull myself back together. Commencing this time last year with the crazy, snowy Halloween storm when we were without power for three days, the searching for a college for my daughter, the holidays, Dad's illness and death, my daughter's leaving for school, my aunt's illness and death, worries over Mom and the building of her new life without Dad but still trying to care for her mother and aunt; all of this has contributed to putting me into a state of confusion. Wow! No wonder I'm feeling the way that I do. I am at that crossroads in life where I am moving from one stage of life to another and feel totally lost. I have been a lot of things for a lot of people and now I need to be someone just for me.

Since my father's death, I have been struggling with my sense of identity. For so long I wanted to live my life to please him and make him proud of me. What I didn't get was that I already did that because he loved me. He would have loved me no matter what I chose to do. Now I need to figure out what that is. What pathway is the right one for me? What path will use my true strengths and gifts? What will bring me true satisfaction and passion? It's really scary! I have a whole second half of life to live. I need to revivify (as used by Anderson and I had to go looking up on Dictionary.com because I hadn't seen it used very often in print). It's a huge challenge, one I am scared of, but as my last journal had printed on it "Always do what you are afraid to do. - Ralph Waldo Emerson" It's the fear I must over come because otherwise I will stay stuck just right where I am, and I am really sick and tired of being stuck here!

Tipping point

All avid readers know when the tipping point has been reached in the reading of a book. The term itself is defined as "the crisis stage in a process." This morning I reached that point in the book I have currently been reading The Almond Picker. I simply had to sit down and finish the book. I had about 50 pages to go. I wrote the other day that this story turned into a mystery and I was anxiously waiting for the explanation to the central character's backstory which drove the plot of this book. I won't spoil it for you but I never saw it coming. The author crafty the story so well that I would never have guessed what was coming. A most excellent read.

As for the reader's tipping point, there have been many a day or late night spent voraciously finishing off a book. There's nothing like a good read. On to the next book. Wish me luck with getting anything else in my life done.